insane cravings

[slowbus]

i've been pretty good with my diet this past month. all i eat is brown rice, broccoli, whole wheat bread, whole milk, chicken breast, very lean ground beef, olive oil, mayo, eggs, and bananas. today, i've had insane cravings. i've eaten a couple personal pizzas, right now im eating a huge bowl of honey nut cheerios, i had a couple chimichangas earlier, and ive also had a couple plates of brown rice and chicken. and i still feel hungry! yesterday i had a very intense workout with my 5x5 full body routine.. is it normal to have these kinds of cravings? id estimate that so far ive eaten about 2500 calories, so im not to worried about 'overdoing' it..i've just nver had junk food cravings hit me like this before[and no, i'm not stoned]. is it just psychological or does my body need these foods for some reason?

[Nab0610]

You might be in a deficit in terms of carbs, so your craving them.

Other than that its probably just psychological, I tend to crave sugar whenever I'm tired.

[ridge_forrester]

I don't think your body needs them so much as it might be psychological satisfaction of having nice tasting food that you haven't had for a while.

Unless you're on a pretty strict cutting phase, I'm sure that a few meals or even a cheat day won't hurt too much if you don't go far over your caloric maintenance figure.

edit: It might be a good idea to have some schedule for the occasional cheat meal so that you don't binge on bad foods?

[get_hype]

all i eat is brown rice, broccoli, whole wheat bread, whole milk, chicken breast, very lean ground beef, olive oil, mayo, eggs, and bananas.

That is a VERY simple menu. Just remember that variety is the spice of life, and you CAN have more variety even when dieting.

Add some new veggies in there and more kinds of fruit. Tomatoes, carrots, corn, green beans, peas, spinach, apples, kiwis, berries, oranges, etc, etc, etc!!!!!!!!!

Also what about beans? Black beans, kidney beans, red beans, and chickpeas can all be made into side dishes or added to salads, chicken, etc to mix up a main dish.

Some new sources of protein might be good to - such as turkey or occasional pork or ham. Maybe some whole wheat noodles and spaghetti sauce with turkey meatballs, for example.

The more variety you build into your diet, the fewer cravings you will have.


edit: Also, dunno what your diet deal is, but how about more healthy fat options as well? Avocado and peanut butter are both delicious (separate from each other, of course!).

[slowbus]

That is a VERY simple menu. Just remember that variety is the spice of life, and you CAN have more variety even when dieting.

Add some new veggies in there and more kinds of fruit. Tomatoes, carrots, corn, green beans, peas, spinach, apples, kiwis, berries, oranges, etc, etc, etc!!!!!!!!!

Also what about beans? Black beans, kidney beans, red beans, and chickpeas can all be made into side dishes or added to salads, chicken, etc to mix up a main dish.

Some new sources of protein might be good to - such as turkey or occasional pork or ham. Maybe some whole wheat noodles and spaghetti sauce with turkey meatballs, for example.

The more variety you build into your diet, the fewer cravings you will have.


edit: Also, dunno what your diet deal is, but how about more healthy fat options as well? Avocado and peanut butter are both delicious (separate from each other, of course!).

i would love to buy more of those things, but i'm in washington atm for school and only have so much money for food i buy those things in bulk from costco because they tend to be the cheapest..ahh avocados.. i miss california..avocados up here are almost 2$/each D:..and as for peanut butter, i have about 4 jars left of adams in my cupboard=P. ill give the whole wheat noodles + more veggies a try..thanks

[get_hype]

I understand the money issue. Keep an eye out for sales. Some kind of produce is on sale every week - I stocked up on apples and oranges this week

And I buy peanut butter, bread, noodles, and rice whenever they go on sale. Farmer's markets are also good for cheap produce.

[bk12321]

It probably means you have been really kicking your own ass in the gym and in the kitchen. From what you posted, it looks like you have been eating almost nothing but health foods! great job with your diet!

I've seen Insight post something to this effect. If you deprive your body of all the foods you like, and just eat healthy and bland crap all the time, you won't last long on a diet unless you have extreme willpower!

Its hard to keep eating like that, so when you deprive yourself for so long, it builds up until you just eat like crazy one day.

I still have that problem every now and then, but if I keep eating things like bison burgers (which are healthy and are still good) I can actually keep my cravings down and still eat good.

Remember, as long as you keep it in moderation you can still eat foods you enjoy. Just eat the right stuff, and if something is really terrible for you, try only having it once a week or so.

[bk12321]

Costco is a great place to buy bulk fruits/veggies provided you eat them before they go bad. Not just that, I also buy my almond butter, water, chicken, a few snacking foods, jerky, etc. from costco.

They are really inexpensive for some things.

[Murderfox]

You might be in a deficit in terms of carbs, so your craving them.

Other than that its probably just psychological, I tend to crave sugar whenever I'm tired.

This. I've noticed when i'm really tired i tend to crave carbs & end up eating heaps of sugar-loaded stuff.

[Thebigcorbowski]

You are well above 2.5k calories.

[JontheAtheist]

Its okay to have a cheat day every once in a while, man.

[eyedude]

Try eating a large handful of pine nuts thirty minutes before your meal with a glass of filtered water, pine nuts have an enzyme that suprresses appetite and is also a great souce of protein, vitamins and minerals, try another seed too, a handful of pumpkin seeds a day is also good because it helps prevent BPH of the prostate in men and also high in L-tryptophan which is crucial for good sleep which we all know is crucail for muscle recovery and growth! Lastly brown rice is great however you may want to try to substitue arganic barley in place of brown rice, the Glycemic load is much less and this may help the yoyo of your insulin! Certainly brown rice is better than white rice. Dr. Mike



QUOTE=slowbus;443438061]i've been pretty good with my diet this past month. all i eat is brown rice, broccoli, whole wheat bread, whole milk, chicken breast, very lean ground beef, olive oil, mayo, eggs, and bananas. today, i've had insane cravings. i've eaten a couple personal pizzas, right now im eating a huge bowl of honey nut cheerios, i had a couple chimichangas earlier, and ive also had a couple plates of brown rice and chicken. and i still feel hungry! yesterday i had a very intense workout with my 5x5 full body routine.. is it normal to have these kinds of cravings? id estimate that so far ive eaten about 2500 calories, so im not to worried about 'overdoing' it..i've just nver had junk food cravings hit me like this before[and no, i'm not stoned]. is it just psychological or does my body need these foods for some reason?[/QUOTE]

[slowbus]

You are well above 2.5k calories.

no im not..bowl of cereal w/ milk = bout 550-600 cals..personal pizza=490 calories..2xchimichangas=700calories..8 oz chicken=220cals, 1.5cups brown rice=300 calories..3 cups of whole milk=450 calories..thats what im at so far..gonna eat in a couple hours cuz i finally got full..lol..so about 2800 calories..so i guess it wasnt as bad as i thought..

[slowbus]

Its okay to have a cheat day every once in a while, man.

yeah i figured after all my hard work this past month+ its okay to be a fat ass again for a day.